USS Gerald R. Ford arrives in Croatia after fire leaves only one US aircraft carrier against Iran.

The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the U.S. Navy’s lead Ford-class aircraft carrier, arrived off Split, Croatia, on March 28, 2026, after withdrawing from Middle East operations due to a major onboard fire and accumulated system strain.

Following initial repair assessments in Souda Bay, Crete, the carrier relocated to Croatia for continued maintenance with support from Carrier Strike Group Twelve and regional technical teams. The U.S. Navy announced the move as part of a controlled maintenance cycle, but this temporary redeployment removes a nuclear-powered carrier with a full air wing from active strike operations against Iran, directly reducing U.S. naval aviation capacity pending the arrival of USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77).

Read also: US Navy Replaces USS Gerald R. Ford With USS George H.W. Bush After Aircraft Carrier Fire Near Iran

Following initial repair assessments in Souda Bay, Crete, the USS Gerald R. Ford relocated to Croatia to continue maintenance tasks with support from Carrier Strike Group Twelve and regional technical teams. (Picture source: Twitter/NationalIndNews)

On March 28, 2026, the U.S. Navy confirmed that the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) anchored off Split, Croatia, to conduct maintenance, repair, and resupply activities. This follows its withdrawal from operational duties in the Middle East after an onboard fire and accumulated technical strain. The carrier had been operating in the Red Sea and surrounding areas as part of sustained strike operations that began in late February 2026, contributing to more than 7,000 sorties conducted in support of operations against Iranian targets. Its redeployment to Souda Bay on March 23, followed by relocation to Split, removes a U.S. nuclear-powered carrier with a full air wing from immediate operational availability.

This also reduces the number of deployed carriers in the Central Command theater from two to one, pending the arrival of the USS George H.W. Bush. The timing of the withdrawal occurs during continued operations in the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea, where naval aviation has been used by the U.S. for both strike and defensive missions. The Ford carrier had accumulated between 255 and 270 days at sea at the time of redeployment, exceeding the standard six-month deployment cycle. This extended duration forms a key factor in understanding both the incident and its operational consequences.

The movement to Split followed a working port period in Souda Bay, Crete, from March 23 to March 26, during which initial repair assessments were conducted by Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center personnel, including structural engineers and naval architects. The USS Gerald R. Ford then departed Greece earlier than initially scheduled, maybe following the gathering of protesters after its arrival, and transited north into the Adriatic, arriving in Croatian waters on March 28. This marks the second port call in Split during the same deployment, after a previous visit between October 21 and October 26, 2025. The current stop includes continued inspection of fire-damaged compartments, restoration of habitability conditions, and logistical replenishment.

Seven berthing compartments affected by the fire are undergoing rehabilitation, with support from onboard personnel and external technical teams. The ship remains assigned to Carrier Strike Group Twelve, which continues its deployment despite the temporary removal of its flagship. According to the U.S. Navy, the port call is part of a controlled maintenance cycle rather than a full operational reset. The fire that triggered the Ford redeployment began on March 12, 2026, in the aft laundry system, specifically within a dryer vent connected to the ship’s ventilation network. The fire spread through adjacent compartments via airflow ducts and required more than 30 hours of firefighting and damage control efforts to fully extinguish.

More than 200 sailors were treated for smoke inhalation, and at least three sustained injuries during response operations. The fire damaged more than 100 berthing racks, displacing several hundred sailors and forcing temporary living arrangements across the ship. Estimates indicate that up to 600 personnel were required to sleep on floors or improvised bedding following the incident. Laundry systems were largely disabled, requiring the distribution of additional clothing to maintain operational readiness. The incident also affected internal airflow, sanitation, and support systems, increasing maintenance demands. The cause remains under investigation, with a focus on mechanical failure within the ventilation or dryer assembly. 

The USS Gerald R. Ford itself is a Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier displacing approximately 100,000 tons at full load, with a length of 333 meters and a flight deck width of 78 meters. It is powered by two A1B nuclear reactors capable of sustaining operations for more than 20 years without refueling and enabling speeds exceeding 30 knots. The ship carries more than 4,500 personnel, including the embarked air wing, and is designed to operate more than 75 aircraft. Its construction cost exceeds $13 billion, with additional research and development expenditures increasing the total program cost beyond $17 billion. The carrier incorporates the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear system, replacing steam-based systems and enabling higher sortie generation rates.

Radar systems include dual-band arrays designed for integrated air and surface tracking. Collectively, these systems were intended to increase sortie generation by up to 25 percent compared to previous Nimitz-class while reducing manpower requirements. The embarked air wing of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8), includes F/A-18E/F Super Hornets configured for strike and air superiority missions, EA-18G Growlers for electronic warfare and suppression of air defenses, E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes for airborne early warning and command coordination, and MH-60 helicopters for anti-submarine warfare and maritime security. During operations in the Middle East, these aircraft supported continuous strike cycles, surveillance missions, and defensive counter-air patrols.

A carrier air wing of this composition can generate dozens of sorties per day under sustained conditions, depending on maintenance cycles and operational tempo. However, continuous operations require intensive use of launch systems, arresting gear, and aircraft servicing facilities, accelerating wear across mechanical components. The carrier operates as a mobile airbase capable of sustaining operations without reliance on land-based infrastructure. This capability is central to maintaining a persistent air presence in contested maritime environments such as the Persian Gulf. The removal of the USS Gerald R. Ford from the operational theater eliminates more than 75 embarked aircraft from immediate availability and reduces the number of active carriers in the region to one.

Prior to the incident, dual-carrier operations enabled overlapping sortie cycles, allowing continuous strike coverage by the U.S. and increased operational redundancy. Following the withdrawal, remaining assets must absorb mission requirements, including land-based aircraft and the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group. A replacement carrier, USS George H.W. Bush, is expected to deploy, but transit from the U.S East Coast to the Mediterranean requires approximately 10 to 12 days, potentially followed by additional time for integration into the theater. This creates a temporary gap in carrier-based airpower, as the reduction affects both the scale and persistence of U.S. strike operations against Iran, particularly in maintaining continuous air coverage.

It also increases operational pressure on remaining naval and air assets. The current deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford began on June 24, 2025, and extended across multiple theaters, including the Arctic, Atlantic, Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Red Sea, without a full maintenance interval between missions. By March 2026, the ship had accumulated close to ten months at sea, exceeding standard deployment duration and approaching historical upper limits for carrier operations. During this period, high sortie rates required continuous use of launch and recovery systems, increasing mechanical wear.

Therefore, reports emerged and indicated repeated failures in auxiliary systems, including a vacuum-based plumbing network with hundreds of breakdown incidents recorded over the deployment period. Deferred maintenance due to operational commitments prevented comprehensive system repairs. The cumulative effect of sustained operations, limited downtime, and repeated system failures increased overall strain on the ship’s infrastructure. Crew fatigue also increased due to extended deployment duration and operational intensity. While nuclear propulsion allows extended endurance, system reliability, maintenance cycles, and crew endurance impose operational limits.

The need to rotate carriers reflects both mechanical wear and personnel fatigue accumulated over extended deployments. Maintaining a continuous multi-carrier presence requires balancing operational demand with available fleet capacity. The withdrawal of a single carrier demonstrates the sensitivity of force posture to individual unit availability. Sustained operations increase the consumption of equipment lifespan and reduce available recovery periods between deployments. These factors directly influence readiness and long-term fleet sustainability. The situation illustrates the gap between operational demand, perfect on paper, and maintenance capacity within current force structures, which is more difficult to reach when used extensively.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.